


The Unexpected Courtship

by minervajeanlupin



Series: The Unexpected Courtship [1]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Charles Lee is the worst, Getting Together, Homophobia, Idiots in Love, M/M, innocent Samuel, playboy George
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-28
Updated: 2017-06-05
Packaged: 2018-10-25 02:24:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 13,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10754787
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/minervajeanlupin/pseuds/minervajeanlupin
Summary: George Frederick is very popular and has dated more than half of the male population at school before never speaking with them again. He has never gotten attached to anyone and has never gotten rejected. Until now.Samuel Seabury doesn't have any friends. He has never attracted any attention to himself, and his life has been perfectly calm. Until he rejected George Frederick.Watch as these two colossal idiots finally realize their feelings for one another and- eventually- get together.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> There are way too few Kingbury fics, so I decided to contribute! Let me know what you think! This changes from George's to Samuel's perspective.

In every high school, there is always one kid everyone knows will be hugely successful, one kid that everyone knows will be a high school dropout, and one kid that flirts with everyone. That kid was George Frederick. Ever since the start of senior year, he had managed to seduce most of the males in the school, only to leave them heartbroken the next day. It was taken as a compliment if he even acknowledged your presence after dumping you.

And to only add to his character, he was gay. This meant that half the female students looked at him with anger and the others wistfully, cursing their bad luck.

He never got attached to anyone he went out with, never went on a second date with anyone, never cared about them, and was never unsuccessful in seducing anyone. If his good looks weren’t enough to persuade them (which was unusual), he was also very rich and could afford to take them on extravagant dates (and he was British, which certainly added to the charm). Even many boys that claimed they were straight agreed to go out with him. He was a total flirt, a male coquette, a gay casanova.

And very late to school. But he didn’t care. His parents had made enough donations to the school that they turned a blind eye to a lot of the stuff he did. Hell, he could probably set one of the science labs on fire and they wouldn’t care! He had arrived just in time for lunch. He slid into the seat reserved for him at the table in the center of the cafeteria. He nodded to his friends there and absentmindedly fixed his dirty blonde hair. He looked around the cafeteria, seeing if there were any other boys he had not yet gone out with.

His eyes caught on a red-headed boy who was all alone at his table in the corner. He was reading a book and not paying attention to anyone else. _He’s pretty cute_ , George thought. _I wonder why I haven’t asked him out yet._

“Have you picked your next victim?” Charlotte, his best friend, asked him.

“Yup.” He responded, scrutinizing the boy. She sighed.

“I don’t know why you keep doing this,” She complained. “I think you should find someone you actually like and have a long-term relationship.”

George scoffed, his eyes still not moving from the red-head. “Yeah sure. Like that’s ever going to happen. Anyway, see you.”

He got up and strode over to the boy’s table. Some other kids from the surrounding tables looked up, knowing George was on his way to ask someone new out. The boy didn’t look up from his book, not even when George sat down next to him. He cleared his throat and the boy finally looked up. _He’s adorable_ , George realized. _Seriously, how have I not noticed him before?_ But anyway. Back to the matter at hand.

“Do you want to go out with me?” He asked bluntly. At this point, that was all he had to say to convince someone.

The boy smiled politely. “No thank you.” He turned back to his book.

Wait, what? What just happened? No one had ever rejected George before. He stared at the boy, dumbfound.

“Are you sure?” He asked. He didn’t know what else to say.

The boy turned a page in his book decisively.

“Yes I am. I’m straight.” He explained. George got up and walked over to his own table in a daze. How could he have used that as an excuse? Even straight boys agreed to go out with him. And now he got rejected by a- by a nobody?!

“So how did it go?” Charlotte asked, looking bored.

“I- I got rejected.” He said in almost a whisper. Charlotte’s eyes became wide and she smothered her giggles with her hand.

“That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard today! I can’t believe he rejected you!” Her laughter died down when George glared at her.

“It’s. Not. Funny.” He hissed. “And don’t you dare tell anyone else about this.”

She nodded. “So are you going to try it with someone else?” She asked curiously.

“No. No one has ever rejected me and no one ever will. I’ll convince him to go out with me, just you wait.”

 

Samuel Seabury was not having a great day. He had missed the bus and had been late to school. His teacher gave him detention for the next day after school even though he had arrived only two minutes late. And then The Incident happened.

He was sitting at a table by the corner, alone, as usual. He didn’t have any friends as his extremely religious family kind of scared them away. But he didn’t really mind. He liked being alone, as it meant he could read in peace without anyone bothering him. He looked up only once, when George Frederick entered the cafeteria.

He had had a crush on George since fifth grade. They had been pretty good friends in elementary school, but he was pretty sure George didn’t even remember his name anymore. This crush of his was heartbreaking, as it made him so upset every time George went out with another boy (which was at least three times a month) and he had to pretend to be straight, as his parents would most likely disown him if they found out he was gay.

He felt someone’s eyes on him, and he stiffened. He knew that it was George. He could tell that George was making his way over to him, and he desperately tried to not look up from his book. He barely succeeded. George sat down next to him and he sucked in a breathe, unable to believe he was sitting so close to his long-time crush. He still didn’t look up from his book, re-reading the same passage over and over again without knowing what the text said. George started coughing loudly and he finally looked up, alarmed, wondering if George was okay.

“Do you want to go out with me?” George asked.

Thoughts rushed through Samuel’s head. Of course, this is what he had always wanted! But George would only take him out once before never talking to him again. But wouldn’t even one day be worth it? Maybe not, he didn’t want to join the line of desperate, broken-hearted boys that trailed after George. But still, how could he say no to this?

“No thank you.” He said, giving a forced smile before turning back to his book, hoping that George would leave.

“Are you sure?” George asked, sounding rather bored. Of course, he could pick just about anyone else in the school, he didn’t care that Sam said no.

“Yes I am. I’m straight.” Samuel said, turning a page in his book so George couldn’t tell that his hands were shaking. He hated pretending he was straight, but he had to. He knew from experience how awful his parents could be if he showed any sign that he was gay…

George got up and left. Samuel could finally breathe normally again. He watched George leave, fighting the urge to call him back and say that, yes, he would love to go out with him. But he didn’t. _I should forget about him_ , he thought. _He clearly doesn’t care about me, he didn’t even ask what my name was! I would have been just another boy that he dumped after a day._ At least he could feel flattered that George thought he was good enough to be asked out on a date.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been receiving a lot of positive feedback already, so thank you all so much! This chapter also changes from George's to Samuel's perspective.

Samuel Seabury. That was his name. He was pretty interesting, George mused. Ever since The Incident, as he liked to think of it, he had relentlessly been ~~stalking~~ finding out about Samuel. He was apparently from a prominent Christian family, had skipped second grade, and was definitely not straight. Charles Lee, one of George’s sort-of friends, recalled how he and Samuel had kissed at the end of the eighth grade dance. The thought disgusted George, as Charles was a bit of a bully and didn’t seem at all good enough for the innocent Samuel.

 _How are you any different?_ A voice in his head asked. _You want to do the same thing Charles did. Actually, you want to go further._ He ignored it. He had no qualms about this; after all it was just like any of his other flings, but with a little bit of extra work.

Unfortunately, the only class George and Samuel had together was Advanced US History (which was his least favorite class, it was always so biased) which was only on Thursdays so he’d have to wait until tomorrow. Or so he thought.

He arrived at school two hours late. He walked past the principal to get to his next class.

“Mr. Frederick, may I speak with you please?” The principal asked.

“Sure.” George said nonchalantly. They walked to a secluded area together.

“Mr. Frederick, you have consistently been late for an entire month. I have tried to warn you before, but you don’t listen. If you were any other student, you would have been suspended by now.”

“But I’m not any other student.” George said with a smirk.

The principal gave a long-suffering sigh. He had dealt with George before. “Detention, Mr. Frederick. Today after school. Despite who your family is, you still have to face some repercussions.” He walked off hurriedly before George could argue. George stood there, stunned. What was happening? First someone rejected him, then he got in trouble?! Was he losing his streak? Plus detention was going to waste time he could have used to find out more about Seabury!

He went through the entire school day very despondent, not talking to anyone, even Charlotte. He dragged himself to the library, where his detention was going to take place. He had never entered the library before, and had been hoping to avoid it until he graduated. Well, that was just another hope that had been dashed thanks to the stupid principal.

 _Who am I going to have do this with?_ He thought. _It’s definitely going to be some idiot_. He walked in without his usual swagger, his shoulders slumped slightly in defeat.

“Hello? Anyone there?” He asked, hoping no one would respond. His heart leaped when he saw a familiar redhead poke his head out from behind a bookshelf.

 _Maybe this won’t be so bad…_ He thought, smiling devilishly.

 

“Hello? Anyone there?” Samuel heard someone call. He cursed his luck. Of course he would be stuck in detention with someone else. He poked his head out from the bookshelf he was behind to see who it was. His breathe caught in his throat and he cursed his bad luck even more.

Luckily, the teacher arrived just then, which meant he didn’t have to be alone with George.

“Both of you are expected to shelve all these books. I am going to leave now, but I expect you to behave in a civilized manner while I’m gone. I will be back in thirty minutes.” With that, she left. And Samuel and George were alone.

To avoid having to talk to George, Samuel quickly grabbed a couple of books from the giant pile at random and started to look for the appropriate shelves. George didn’t move and just sat on the floor, admiring the view. One of the books Sam had grabbed was on a very high shelf. He dragged a ladder over and, precariously balancing a stack of books in one hand and clutching the ladder with the other, he began to climb. The shelf was quite near where George was sitting and he flushed slightly, knowing that George had his eyes on him. He placed the book on the shelf and began to descend. When he was nearing the bottom, he tripped and fell off the ladder with a shriek. George immediately rushed over and caught him before he landed on the ground.

“Looks like you fell for me,” George said, smooth as ever though he too was slightly shaken up by what had just happened. Imagine what would have happened if Samuel had fallen! He could have injured himself badly, or worse, ruined that pretty face of his.

“Put me down,” Samuel squeaked, shocked by the fall and by the fact that his crush was holding him. George smirked and obeyed. Sam started straightening his clothes to try and hide his embarrassed face but George noticed anyway. It made him feel oddly proud, that he was the one that had managed to make Samuel so flustered.

“You’re cute when you blush.” George commented truthfully. This just made Samuel blush even more and he didn’t respond, just started shelving books again, staying as far away as possible from George. They spent the rest of the detention the way it started: Sam doing all of the work and George just sitting there, watching him. Sam didn’t even complain about doing everything, still frazzled from what had just happened. They went their separate ways the second detention ended.

Sam had no idea what had just happened. Why was George still flirting with him? Was he still trying to get him to go out with him? Samuel was hoping that George had just given up, but he clearly didn't know how persistent George was, as evident the next day.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty short, so I might update this earlier than usual. Again, thanks to everyone that commented or left kudos! I really appreciate it!

For the first time ever, George was looking forward to his Advanced US History class, because it meant that he could see Samuel. He entered the class on time for once. Most of the students were already there and he could see them looking at him, wondering why he was showing up to the class now. He winked at Samuel as he walked over to his seat and grinned as Sam ducked his head, blushing.

The class was as mind-numbingly boring as he expected. He slouched in his seat, absentmindedly twirling a pencil as he gazed at the back of Sam’s head. He didn’t have a coherent plan to seduce Sam, but he would just make it up as he went along. That had worked in the past.

“George, what is your opinion on America declaring it’s independence from Britain?” The teacher asked, breaking his train of thought. George didn’t miss a beat.

“I think it was rather idiotic,” He said calmly. “These so-called ‘Americans’ were actually just Britons that were betraying their mother country. They didn’t even have an adequate reason, they just complained about too many taxes though those were necessary to pay of the war debt and besides, people in Great Britain had to pay more taxes anyway.”

Alexander Hamilton, one of George’s least favorite flings, stood up immediately. “You must be out of your mind if you believe that! We were being treated so unfairly, just think of the Quartering Act-”

George cut in smoothly. “We? Aren’t you an immigrant?”

“Yes, but all Americans were originally immigrants.” Hamilton retorted angrily.

George raised an eyebrow. “But that’s what I’m saying. They were all from Britain, so they shouldn’t have betrayed them.”

“I agree with George.” Samuel chimed in unexpectedly. He looked self-conscious when everyone turned and looked at him. “It wasn’t right for them to rebel when they didn’t really have anything to rebel about.” George gave him a grateful smile and watched in satisfaction as Sam blushed yet again.

“Of course you do, Seabury, my dog has more opinions than you do.” Hamilton exclaimed before his boyfriend, John Laurens or something, whispered something to him and he reluctantly sat down. George looked at Sam and he seemed unhappy. He glared at Hamilton with animosity. How dare he make Sam the slightest bit upset!

The teacher didn’t even look fazed. This happened a lot and he was used to it at this point.

“Okay, so we are going to be doing a project on America’s Revolution now. You need to work with one other person. You may pick your partners now.” Everyone immediately rushed off to find their friends. George stood up and was flocked with people wanting to partner with him. He told them all no, somewhat respectfully, before managing to dislodge all of them. He made his way across the room to where Samuel was sitting alone.

“Hey, do you want to be partners?” He asked.

Sam hesitated. He was planning on avoiding George, lest he accidentally reveal he was gay (and worse, gay for the school heartthrob) but he didn’t have any other prospects. Besides, George probably just wanted to partner with him so he would do the all work for him and not for any other reason.

“Sure.” He finally agreed.

George, who had been watching him intently, broke into a smile. “Awesome. Let’s go to my house after school. Wait for me near the parking lot.” Sam nodded and George walked back to his seat, resisting the urge to pump his fist in victory. This just brought him one step closer to convincing Sam to go out with him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize in advance if my updating schedule gets messed up, it's currently exam season at my school so I'm very busy. I'll try to update regularly, though.

The school day seemed to go past in the blink of an eye and, before Samuel knew it, it was over. He walked to the parking lot nervously and sat down on the steps nearby, wondering when George was going to get here. A couple of students passed him, including Charles Lee.

“Hey, Seabury.” Charles said, grinning.

“Hello.” Samuel said politely.

“So I was wondering-”

“Sam! There you are!” George suddenly appeared. “Sorry, Lee, we have to go.” Samuel got up, not at all disappointed to be leaving the conversation. For whatever reason, Lee made him feel uncomfortable.

“See you around?” He said, following George.

“You will.” Lee promised. _That sounds ominous_ , Samuel thought. George walked to the front of the parking lot where his car was parked. Unlike many of his peers, Samuel didn’t know anything about types of cars, but even he could tell that this was a very expensive car. George sat at the driver’s seat and he sat shotgun.

Neither of them talked during the first few minutes of the trip. Samuel glanced at George. He was frowning and looked unhappy about something.

“Is anything wrong?” He finally asked.

George’s expression cleared. “No, no it’s fine.”

“Oh.” He nodded. “Well, can I do anything to help?”

George smirked. “Yes, I can definitely think of some things you can do to help.”

Samuel could feel his face turning red (why did this always happen when he was near George?) so he turned to face the window. There was silence for a while.

“So where are you from?” He asked eventually just to break the awkward silence.

George was surprised. None of his flings- or even prospective flings- had ever bothered to ask about him before.

“I’m from England, as you could probably tell from the accent and pro-British stance I had in US History.”

Samuel laughed and the sound made George’s heart flutter for some strange reason.

“That’s really cool, I’ve always wanted to go to England. I find it a really fascinating country.” Samuel said.

George smiled. “I guess I’ll have to take you there one day then.” He immediately tensed up after he said. Oh, why had he said that? Now Samuel might think that he wanted an actual relationship with him.

“I’d like that.” Samuel said, smiling shyly, and he looked so adorable that George didn’t have the heart to say anything now.

“So where are you from?” George asked, in an effort to quickly change the subject.

“I’ve lived here my whole life. I’m not a very interesting person. But tell me more about England. How is it different from here? Which part of England did you live in?”

George decided not to tell Samuel that he thought he was fascinating, and so just talked about England the entire time. The trip was over much quicker than either of them was expecting.

“Wow.” Samuel breathed. “Your house is amazing.”

“Thanks.” George said offhandedly. He had heard this a million times, and it was true. His house was, quite literally, a mansion. They entered the ginormous house.

“Is anyone here?” Samuel asked nervously.

“No, my parents are going to be in England for a month, so we’re all alone.” George explained, leading the way to his room. Samuel nodded, not sure whether to be worried or relieved about that. They both went into George’s room. He immediately flopped down on his bed and closed his eyes, Samuel standing nearby awkwardly. George cracked open an eye. “You can sit down, you know.”

“Oh, okay.” Samuel said, sitting down on the bed next to him. He took off his bag and got out his US History folder.

“So for the project, I think we should focus more on the causes of the Revolutionary War then the war itself, as it would show-”

George wrinkled his nose and waved his hand dismissively. “Ugh, we have plenty of time to do that. Why don’t we do something a little more… fun?”

Samuel gulped. He didn’t know how to respond. “Um, I think we should just finish this. I have to go home soon.”

“Well, you’re welcome to stay the night.” George said.

“We have school tomorrow, so I don’t think that’s the best idea.” Samuel said quickly. “So anyway, doing the causes for the Revolutionary War would make our project stand out as-”

George sat up. “Sammy, do you think I’m good-looking?”

“Oh course!” Samuel responded immediately. He didn’t mean to, but he was so shocked at the nickname and the thought that someone might consider George _not_ good-looking that it had just slipped out. He stared at the bed, chagrined.

George gave him a genuine smile, not expecting that response. “And do you think I’m charming?”

“I don’t see what that has to do with our project…” Samuel trailed off uncertainly.

“Just answer the question Sam.”

“Well then, yes, I suppose.” Samuel answered truthfully.

“And are you homophobic?”

Samuel gulped. “No. I believe in letting people do whatever makes them happy, as long as what they are doing doesn’t harm themselves or others.”

George nodded, satisfied. He scooted a bit closer to Samuel. “Then why won’t you agree to go out with me?” He asked, turning his head so his clear blue eyes were staring straight into Samuel’s brown ones.

‘Um…” Samuel suddenly couldn’t breathe. George was so close to him that he couldn’t form a coherent thought.

“I mean,” George continued, moving ever so slightly closer to Samuel, “You said that you’re straight. I’m pretty sure that’s not the case, but even if it was, why don’t you agree to just one date? That’s all. Then I’ll be off your back completely. Think about it.”

“... I have to go.” Samuel muttered. He grabbed his bag and hurriedly left the room, his face as red as his hair.

George flopped down on the bed, face down.

“Seriously?” He muttered.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It was my birthday recently and what better way to celebrate your birthday than by writing fanfiction about dead guys, right? Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated.

Samuel was afraid that school would be super awkward the next day. He was trying very hard to avoid George, and managed to the entire time. Until lunch.

Sam was sitting alone at his table, as usual. He tried not to look at George as he entered the cafeteria, but didn’t succeed.

Well, it wasn’t really his fault. George looked especially good that day, with extra-skinny jeans and a blue shirt that brought out his eyes (and was probably worth a hundred dollars or more). Most people in the cafeteria started salivating just looking at him.

So yeah. Besides, Samuel wasn’t staring at him because he looked good. No, most definitely not. He was unabashedly staring at him because he just wanted to make sure that George didn’t come over and try to flirt with him. Though the likeness of that happening was slim, as George immediately went up to a boy- sitting only two tables away from Samuel!- and started flirting outrageously with him.

What! What audacity. How _dare_ George flirt with someone so close to him. Samuel fumed slightly. Should he even be surprised? After all, he had told George to leave him alone. Repeatedly. But he hadn’t really expected George to listen.

He glared at George with animosity. And then George looked up at him and winked at him! This time Samuel was turning red not from embarrassment, but from anger. He wouldn’t be surprised if smoke was coming from his ears. He couldn’t think rationally. He got up and stormed over to where George and the other kid were oh-so-pleasantly chatting.

“George, may I have a word?” He asked, his words short and clipped.

George grinned cheekily. “Yeah sure, why not. I’ll be back in a minute, Jemmy.” He told the other kid before following Samuel out of the cafeteria.

“What the hell was that?!” Samuel yelled at him the second they were out of the cafeteria and in the hallway.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard you swear before. That’s hot.” George commented, leaning against the wall casually. Samuel wasn’t fazed. How dare George flirt with that student and then him?! How dare he be so calm all the time? And how dare he look so- so good? He wanted to make George feel as flustered as he did all the time, to make him lose his cool demeanor. Samuel didn’t know what to do. He was irrationally angry, and angrily irrational. So he did the first thing he thought of, the thing he had wanted to do ever since he had first laid his eyes on George William Frederick. He kissed him.

 

Of course George wasn’t going to give up with Samuel. He couldn’t risk his reputation. He just needed to try something else to convince Samuel. So that morning, he came up with a plan. He dressed in his nicest clothes and didn’t even bother trying to talk with Samuel all day. When he went to cafeteria, he promptly began to flirt with a boy who was strategically only two tables away from Samuel.

He knew his plan was working when he saw Samuel glare at him, so he turned and winked at him just to get him riled up. It seemed to work, as Samuel immediately stood up and walked to him. He was a little scared by the expression on Samuel’s face, but he would never admit it.

“George, may I have a word?” Samuel asked. George silently rejoiced and grinned happily.

“Yeah sure, why not. I’ll be back in a minute, Jemmy.” He wasn’t sure if the boy he had been flirting with was actually called Jemmy, but whatever. He followed Samuel out of the cafeteria, heart leaping with excitement.

Once they were out of earshot, Samuel yelled, “What the hell was that?!”

George leaned against the wall. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you swear before. That’s hot.” And it was. Seeing Samuel so frustrated was a definite turn-on.

Samuel growled angrily and then kissed him.

Wait. What?

He had definitely not been expecting this. This was even better than what he had been hoping for! For someone who had never dated anyone before, Samuel was definitely a good kisser. But he was taking control of the kiss. That wouldn’t do. George turned them around so Samuel was pressed against the wall. He nibbled Samuel’s bottom lip and Samuel moaned. He used this to his advantage by slipping his tongue into Samuel’s mouth and exploring it. He only pulled away when he had to take a breathe but kept Samuel pinned against the wall. Through his exhilarated daze, he thought that he saw the flash of a camera but quickly dismissed it when he gazed at Sam. Oh, how he wanted him to always look like this!

His hair was ruffled from George running his fingers through it. His lips were red and swollen. His pupils were blown open from lust. He felt he could spend all day just staring at Samuel.

Samuel shoved George away. “Leave me alone.” He said, his voice rasping slightly. He walked away.

 _What the fuck just happened?_ George thought.

 _What the heck just happened?_ Samuel thought.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if that last chapter was cringy, I've literally never kissed anyone before and don't really know how to write kisses.

Samuel was ignoring him. After that day- that day that was imprinted in George’s memory and that he couldn’t forget no matter how hard he tried- Samuel stopped talking to him. He never said anything in response to George, never showed that he was listening. He stopped blushing whenever George was in the vicinity. He even requested the History teacher to let him do the project alone!

And it was driving George mad. He first kept following Samuel around, making even more flirtatious comments than before. But Samuel didn’t listen.

Then he tried to make Samuel jealous by flirting with other boys- after all, it had worked  _ very, very  _ well that day. But Samuel just ignored him.

Then he tried to beat Samuel at his own game, by ignoring him too. But Samuel still didn’t do anything.

Then he gave up. He stopped ranting to Charlotte about Samuel during lunch (for which she was grateful), stopped trying to figure out why Samuel was flat-out ignoring his presence, and stopped trying to get into Samuel’s pants. He couldn’t risk his reputation, after all. It would be better to have been rejected by a boy than to keep trying to pursue the boy like so many of ex-flings were doing with him. That would just be downright embarrassing. 

So everything went back to normal. Samuel stayed away from his classmates, reading rather than socializing with any of them, George had already managed to seduce two new boys in a week and was starting on a third, and Charles Lee was being a creep as normal.

But not  _ everything _ was the same. No one realized it, not even George, but his flings were starting to look more and more like Samuel. The first had the same tendency to blush over the smallest things, the second has his large, innocent, doe eyes, and the third had red hair as fiery as his. But none of them were Samuel.

George wouldn’t admit it, but he missed him. None of his new, or even old, flings were as interesting as Samuel. They weren’t as adorable, or intelligent, or kind. None of them cared that he was from Britain. None of them bothered to ask about his life. They didn’t care about him at all. Except Samuel. 

George wished he could apologize to Samuel for whatever he did wrong and ask if they could just be friends. But he didn’t want that, nor would Samuel agree. He was only just starting to realize it, but he had feelings for Samuel. It had been so long, but he was pretty sure that was what was happening. That’s why he felt so guilty after he and his new flings fucked. That was why he kept comparing them with Samuel. And that was why he felt an inexplicable urge to always be around Samuel, the pain in his chest he felt when Samuel ignored him. That was why.

 

Samuel was ignoring him. He had decided after that day- that day that haunted his dreams and that was always on the back of his mind, no matter what- that he was going to stop. He would stop encouraging George’s remarks by not responding to him at all. It hurt him so much to push George away, but he was too afraid about what would happen if his parents found out. 

He completely iced George out. He even asked if he could do the History project alone. He felt a little guilty about leaving George mid-way, but George would be able to find a new partner easily. The conversation with the History teacher went a little something like this:

“Can I please do the project by myself?” Samuel asked quietly.

The teacher frowned. “Why would you want to?”

“Well, George and I don’t really work well together…” Samuel said hesitantly. 

“Okay, fine then I guess.” As Samuel left the classroom, he heard the teacher say to himself, “Damn, I lost the bet. I was so sure they would end up together!”

Samuel would have been embarrassed if he wasn’t so angry. How dare his teachers bet on him and George?! He also felt just a little bit pleased that his teacher thought George and him would become a couple, but dismissed it quickly.

For about a week after that day, George kept trying to talk to him, or get some sort of reaction from him. He tried his best not to say anything back, and barely succeeded. 

And then George kept flirting with boys near him. That might have worked before, but George wasn’t subtle at all about it and Samuel was mollified knowing that George was only doing it to get his attention.

And then George gave up. Samuel couldn’t say he was surprised; he knew it would happen eventually. But that doesn’t mean it hurt any less. Now George didn’t offer to carry his books to all his classes, rant about their History teacher to him, make purposely flirtatious comments just to see his reaction, or even just smile at him in the halls. He missed it. And he was smart enough to know why: he had feelings for George. Well, he had always had feelings for George, but now they had blossomed (at maybe the most inconvenient time). In fact, it may even be love.

Samuel was unused to loving people. The only person he loved was his sibling, who was three years younger than him. So he was afraid. This was new and very, very dangerous. He couldn’t let anyone know about his feelings, especially his parents. After all, his worst fear was that his parents might find out the truth about him.

And then one day, his worst fear came true.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to make Samuel's sibling a non-binary character, which I'm not used to doing, so please leave a comment if I accidently messed up anywhere.

Samuel’s day had started out normally. He had woken up very early and layed in bed contemplating life and existence until it was a reasonable hour. He got up and went through his morning routine, brushing his teeth and eating a quick breakfast, before grabbing a new book and going to school.

Once at school, he did what he always did: do all his work perfectly, ignore everyone else and read when he had free time, and stay as far away as possible from George Frederick. Everything was just as it always was. The only thing that seemed different was that Charles Lee kept trying to talk to him, though Sam just responded with polite, short answers until he went away. Everything seemed normal. Until he got home.

“Hey.” He said to his sibling in greeting as he came home, much later than usual as he had been attending a debate tournament after school. The two of them were very close: they were the only one he had come out as gay too, and he was the only one that knew they preferred gender neutral pronouns.

“Hey.” They said back tersely, looking at something on their phone.

“What happened? Is something wrong?” He asked. He was extremely protective of them, even though they were more than capable of taking care of themselves. They were definitely more capable than Sam, at any rate.

“Yeah.” They said, looking up at him with large, worried eyes. “Look at this.” It was a picture posted on Instagram, which Samuel didn’t have. It was a picture of him and George kissing from that day.

Samuel felt like he was going to throw up. Or possibly faint. This was his worst fear. Oh no. What was he meant to do? How many people had seen this?

“How… how many people have seen this?” He asked, voice crackling slightly.

“Quite a lot.” They answered quietly. “I think someone from your school posted it.”

“Have mom and dad seen it?” Samuel asked panickedly.

“Well…” His sibling trailed off uncertainly, not wanting to upset him but at the same time knowing he needed to know this. “Well, probably. They have Instagram too, they just don’t use it, plus someone probably sent this picture to them.”

“Oh god. Oh god.” Samuel started pacing around, wringing his hands. If his parents were here, they would have told him not to use the lord’s name in vain before disowning him for being gay, most likely.

“What should I do?!” He asked desperately, as much to himself as to his sibling.

“Okay, calm down.” His sibling said, trying to be the voice of reason though they too felt on the verge of breaking down. “There is a chance they haven’t seen it yet. All you need to do is find out who posted it. It’s from an anonymous account, and I told them to take it down, but it would be more persuasive if you could talk to them face-to-face.”

“ _All_ I need to do?” Samuel said with a slightly hysterical laugh. “Oh yeah, that’s so easy, that just narrows it down to the entire school!”

“No, but it’s most likely a person trying to get revenge on you. No one else would just post a random picture of two people kissing, unless they’re a creep. Think about it. Have you upset anyone recently?”

Samuel’s eyes widened. “Yes. As a matter of fact I have. That son of a-”

“Then go!” They said, gesturing for him to leave wildly. “You don’t have much time! Mom and dad are going to come home soon, and then they’re bound to see it!”

Samuel nodded and ran outside. He didn’t own a car, nor did he know how to drive, but luckily the house wasn’t too far. He didn’t even stop to grab an umbrella though it was starting to rain. He ran through the streets as quickly as he could, hoping with all his heart that he would make it in time.

 

George Frederick was having a normal day. He got up very late, as usual, and lay in bed for even longer, contemplating life and existence. He went through his normal routine: calling his parents because they were still in England and liked to check in on him everyday, styling his hair to perfection, and eating a leisurely breakfast, before going to school.

At school he did what he usually did: flirt with boys throughout his classes, talk to Charlotte, not pay attention to anything the teacher was saying but still get decent marks, and stay as far away as possible from Samuel Seabury. Everything was normal, everything was calm. The only thing that seemed to be different was that he disliked Charles Lee much more than he had in the past. He didn’t know why, but it most definitely did not have anything to do with the fact that Lee was paying an abnormal amount of attention to Samuel. But anyway. Everything was pretty much the same as it always was.

He went home and Henry, his next best friend after Charlotte, called him.

“Hey, can I come over with a couple of guys?” He asked.

“Hello. I’m doing well, thanks for asking. How are you?” He responded. He could practically hear Henry roll his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. But seriously though, can I come over?”

“Why can’t you just do it at your house?”

“My parents are here plus your house is so much cooler!” George wondered idly if all his friends were only his friends because he was rich and had access to a lot of stuff.

He sighed. “Yeah, sure, whatever. You have to leave before midnight though.”

“Thanks!” Henry said before disconnecting.

Henry arrived soon with a group of boys in tow. To George’s displeasure, Lee was one of them. They all talked and joked in the parlour loudly. George heard the doorbell ring (which was barely noticeable over all the noise) and went to go see who it was. To his surprise and unhappiness, Lee offered to go with him. He didn’t talk to Lee at all, instead maintaining a pointed silence.

He flung open the door, as the person outside was ringing it repeatedly and rather rudely.

“Okay, okay, calm dow-” He stopped mid-sentence when he saw who it was. A soaking wet, terrified and terrifying looking Samuel was standing outside, glaring at him. Well. This was unexpected.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I can't believe I have over 100 kudos! Thank you so much everyone. Please leave a comment if you like my writing, it doesn't even have to be related to the fic.

Samuel strode into the house angrily, not caring that he was dripping wet. He glared at George, not even noticing that Charles Lee was standing close by, looking amused.

“You!” He snarled.

“Me?” George asked, looking confused. Sam wasn’t fooled. He knew how good an actor George could be.

“Yes, you! You know what you did.” George was very confused. He was happy, of course, that Samuel was talking to him again, but didn’t know why Samuel was placing unfounded accusations on him.

“I don’t know what happened or why you’re so angry. Though I’m certainly not complaining if it ends up the way that day did.” He ended his sentence with a wink. It was the wrong thing to say. Samuel’s face turned red but instead of embarrassment this time, it was from anger.

“How dare you?” He hissed, jabbing George in the chest. “Take down that photo right now, or I swear to god, you will regret it.”

George took a step back, stunned. “What?” He asked.

“This!” Samuel said, taking out his phone and shoving a picture in George’s face. It was of them kissing.

“Who took a picture of this?” George asked, getting more and more confounded by the second.

Something in George’s face made Samuel hesitate. No one could be _that_ good of an actor. He genuinely seemed stunned. But if George didn’t do it then-

He had just gotten a text from his sibling. It said, _They found out. Don’t come home this night. Don’t worry, I’ll find a way to fix this._

Samuel sank to the floor and put his head in his hands disparagingly.

“Samuel? What’s wrong?” He heard George ask quietly, more gently than he had ever heard him talk before.

“My parents…” He started in a hoarse whisper before clearing his throat and continuing. “My parents are homophobic and just saw the picture.”

George’s eyes widened in realization. _That’s_ why Samuel said he was straight. Oh god, he was such an idiot. No wonder Samuel was so mad at him.

“Um… George…” Samuel said quietly, looking up at him from the floor. “I really don’t think I should go home today. Could I please stay with you just for tonight?”

George just stared back at him, shocked. Samuel seemed to think George wasn’t saying anything because he was mad at him.

“And… I’m sorry.” He said hesitantly. “But please, it’s just for one night.”

“You can stay with me.” Charles Lee interjected. “I only have one bed free, so we’ll have to share, but-”

Anger glimmered in George’s eyes. “No.” He snapped. “You can stay here, Samuel, I have plenty of room.”

He helped Samuel up off the floor, ignoring the sparks he felt when their hands touched. He was disgusted by himself. It was his fault Samuel was in trouble right now, and if anything serious happened, he would never be able to forgive himself. The least he could do was offer Samuel a place to stay. He went to the parlor, where everyone else hadn’t seemed to realize something was wrong. They were just as boisterous as usual.

“All of you, get out.” He said.

“But-” Henry protested.

“No buts. Something came up. Leave immediately.” They all got up and reluctantly left, some of them staring curiously at the still dripping-wet Samuel. Charles hung back a little, looking like he wanted to say something to Samuel, but left once George glared at him.

There was an awkward silence when they were alone.

“Um.” George started. “We should probably go upstairs now. I’ll lend you some of my clothes.”

Samuel followed George to his room, very aware that he was dripping water everywhere, but George didn’t seem to care so he didn’t say anything.

They entered the bedroom, which was the exact same as Samuel remembered. They were both still for a while, remembering that day, until George cleared his throat and went into his walk-in closet. He came back out with a sweatshirt and pants.

“These will probably be too big for you, but it’s better than falling sick.” Samuel nodded.

“Um, where should I change?” He asked timidly. In the past, George would have probably made a flirty comment at that, saying that he could change right there, but that was over now.

“In my closet, if you want.” George replied. Samuel almost snorted. Oh, the irony. He had been in the closet all his life and when he had finally been forcefully outed, he was changing in the closet at his crush’s house. He changed slowly, trying to process everything that had happened that day. It was a lot to take in.

George almost choked when he saw Samuel come out. He had been right, his clothes were too big for Samuel, but it just made him look all the more adorable. In almost any other circumstance, George would have loved to see Samuel in his clothes. But the very thought sickened him now. He couldn’t believe he was still silently waxing poetry about Samuel when he was the cause of all of Samuel’s troubles.

“It’s getting pretty late.” He said. “We should probably get some sleep now.”

Samuel nodded and George got ready for bed. He silently thanked the gods (if there were any) that it was a Friday, as that would mean Samuel wouldn’t have to go to school tomorrow and potentially face his parents’ wrath.

By the time George was ready, he came out of his bathroom and saw that Samuel was sprawled on his bed, asleep. He looked so cute that it made George want to squeal, but he didn’t do that because he didn’t want to wake up Samuel. He started to leave his room as quietly as he could, but Samuel heard him and grabbed his wrist.

“Where are you going?” Samuel mumbled blearily, raising his head a little.

“To the sofa to sleep.” George answered.

Samuel huffed. “No, it’s your room. If anything I should sleep on the couch.”

“No, no, sleep here. It’s fine.” George assured him hurriedly.

Samuel tugged on his arm. “Fine, then just sleep here, you idiot.” He pulled George towards the bed. George was glad the lights had been dimmed, as _he_ was now the one with a red face.

“Oh- okay. If you’re sure.” He said, getting into the bed.

“Yes. I am.” Samuel said before closing his eyes and almost instantaneously falling asleep. It took George much, much longer to fall asleep because it was very hard for him to tear his eyes off Samuel or ignore the warmth he felt on his arm where Samuel was touching it.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried to write smut for this chapter, I really did. I just couldn't. So here's some fluff instead.

Samuel got up, opening his eyes slowly. He was very comfortable and didn’t want to get up. In fact, he was more comfortable than he had ever been in his life. He was cuddling someone, his arms around them and his face on their chest. He opened his eyes and…

He almost screamed out loud. Luckily he stopped himself on time, but he made an odd squeaking sound and froze up immediately after George groaned a little and turned, still asleep. George looked rather mesmerizing asleep. He had an innocent and peaceful look on his face, which Samuel had never seen before, and sunlight was hitting his hair and making it seem as though it was glowing. He carefully extracted himself from George, scolding himself sternly when he realized he missed the comforting warmth already.

_ Get a grip on yourself _ , he thought. So what had happened last night? Had he and George… done something? No, of course not, he was more responsible than that. So what had happened?

He started to shake as he recalled the memories of the day before. What was he supposed to do? His parents were most likely going to disown him because of this, or force him to go to some sort of conversion camp, or-

Sobs racked through his body. He put his head between his hands despairingly and began to cry. He heard the bed shift and George sat beside him, hugging him gently.

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry.” He heard him whisper over his sobs. 

Samuel soon calmed down and wiped away his tears.

“Thanks.” He said quietly, not looking at George.

“What did I do?” George asked, seeming genuinely confused.

“You let me stay here… and you comforted me. And you didn’t take advantage of me, which I’m sure many others might have done had they been in your place.”

George was shocked. “Oh course I didn’t take advantage of you! I would never! And I am so, so sorry for persisting when you clearly didn’t like me.”

Samuel smiled slightly. George’s apology was what he had needed to hear. 

“I forgive you.” He said simply. George’s smile was definitely worth it, it seemed brighter than the goddamn sun.

“Yay!” He said, and hugged Samuel excitedly before seeming to realize what he was doing. He moved away sheepishly. “Sorry.” He mumbled.

Samuel looked at his phone. There were no texts from his sibling except for one: _ Call me.  _ Well. That was not a good sign.

“I’m going to go call my sibling now.” He informed George before leaving. He called them as soon as he could and they picked up after the first ring.

“What happened?” He asked urgently, holding the phone like a lifeline.

“It’s fine!” His sibling responded cheerfully and tiredly. “I managed to convince them the picture was photoshopped. And I reported it so it got taken down.”

Samuel sighed, a huge weight lifting off his shoulders. “And did they ask where I was?”

“Yes, I said that it was a school project.”

“You’re the best.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.” They responded. 

He laughed. “And did you find out who posted that picture?”

“Um, no, not yet.” They said. “But it shouldn’t matter. Just don’t do anything like that in the future, or at least try to do it in private!”

“I know, I’m really sorry. I promise nothing like that will happen again.”

“It better not.” They threatened. “So, who was the guy?” They said in a teasing voice.

Samuel scratched the back of his head, embarrassed. “It’s no one.”

“Sure.” They responded in a sarcastic voice, elongating the u.

“It’s actually no one!” Samuel protested. 

“Okay, fine, but if you do want to have a relationship with him, then I demand to have a conversation with him! I need to make sure he’s good enough for my baby brother.”

“You’re younger than me!” Samuel yelled into the phone as his sibling, laughing, disconnected. He shook his head, smiling, and walked back into George’s room.

“So I’m guessing good luck?” George asked.

“Yeah.” He beamed. “They believed it was photoshopped.”

“That’s great!” George cheered. “Oh, thank god, I was so worried.”

“I think I should head back now.” Samuel said. “Thanks for all your help. I’ll give you back your clothes on Monday.”

“Keep them!” He heard George call as he left the room. He was secretly thrilled. He loved these clothes, not only because they smelled like George, but because they were warm and comfortable and just a little too big for him. It was like the clothing version of a hug. 

He left George’s house with a spring in his step and gleam in his eyes, more relieved and content than he had been in a long time.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is longer to make up for the shortness of the previous one. As usual, please comment or leave kudos if you enjoyed this!

George spent the rest of the weekend in a happy daze. Samuel wasn’t in trouble and had seemed to forgive George. His good mood lasted for much into Monday, until it was completely ruined.

He entered school on time, which he had only done once before (both times had been because of Samuel, it seemed as though he was a good influence on George). He was even more thrilled than usual when he saw Samuel in the halls and he smiled at him. Samuel still seemed more reserved than before, but at least he wasn’t completely ignoring George.

He was quite bored throughout his classes and just daydreamed about Samuel. He stopped flirting with every boy that passed his vicinity, which greatly shocked Charlotte.

“What happened?” She asked. “Are you sick?” She leaned over and felt his forehead.

George pushed her hand away. “No, I’m fine. It’s nothing.” But it wasn’t nothing. Knowing that Samuel had forgiven him made him so much more optimistic and made him view the world with a rose colored lense.

He went to his English class and grinned happily as Sam waved at him as he walked past.

“Okay class, get into pairs and start discussing what you thought of The Catcher and the Rye.” The teacher said.

George lounged in his chair. He didn’t have any friends in this class, but worst comes to worst, he would just partner with one of his old flings.

“Hey, want to be partners?” Charles Lee came over and asked.

George hesitated. He still disliked Lee, but didn’t have a good reason as to why. He guessed he would just give him a chance.

“Sure.” He said.

Lee sat down in the chair next to him. There was silence for a while, the two of them listening to others drone on and not discussing the book because neither of them had bothered to read it.

“So, when are you going to break up with Seabury?” Lee asked.

“What?” George said back, nonplussed. 

“Well, I need to know when you’re planning on breaking up with him, as he’ll be so heartbroken, he’ll agree to go out with me.” Lee explained.

“You like Samuel?” George asked, still very confused.

“No, of course not. I just want to fuck him.” Lee said, smiling as though George would relate.

“You don’t care about him at all, do you.” George said, seeing red. 

“Yeah, I don’t. But I really do want to do it with him. Why do you think I shared that picture? I knew he liked you, but I thought that sharing that picture would make him stop trusting you. I was planning on letting him stay at my house, where he would be so vulnerable he’d agree to anything I’d say.” 

Lee sat back with a smug smile, looking satisfied. “And that plan didn’t work, so I need to know when you’re going to inevitably break up with him.”

“You were the one to take that picture?” George asked in a hushed voice. Lee rolled his eyes.

“Wow, you’re dumber than I expected. Of course it was me.”

“Samuel almost got disowned because of that!” George said angrily.

“I don’t really care.” Lee said. “The only reason I’m doing this is so I can-” He stopped talking with a gasp as George punched him, hard, right on the nose.

“Ow!” He yelled out, holding his nose, which seemed to be dripping blood.

“What happened?” The teacher asked, coming over hurriedly.

“He punched me! Hard!” Lee cried out, pointing at George angrily. There were whispers and gasps from all over the room. George’s hand was still curled up in a fist and he was looking at Lee disgustedly, though he did feel a little ashamed about what he had done. But just a little.

“Mr. Frederick, go to the principal's office immediately!” The teacher said, furious. 

George got up and left, still fuming. He went over to the principal’s office.

“Ah, what happened now Mr. Frederick?” The principal asked.

“I punched a kid.” George said quietly. The principal widened his eyes and took off his glasses tiredly.

“Why did you do this?”

“He was planning on manipulating one of my friends.” George said.

“Well, it’s very noble of you to defend a friend’s honor, but that doesn’t mean it’s okay. You can’t do stuff like this, okay? If I find out you ever do anything like this again, I’m expelling you. No matter what the circumstance.”

George gulped. “Yes, sir, I understand. Thanks.”

“Now wait outside, I need to call your parents and explain what happened, as well as talk to Mr. Lee when he’s feeling better.” George left.

 

Samuel was thrilled throughout the weekend, and very, very relieved. His parents barely questioned him on where he had gone and completely believed that the picture was photoshopped and it was just some kids playing a prank. He did have to sit through a very long rant about how people shouldn’t even joke about homosexuality, as it was such a sin, but it was far better than the alternative so he didn’t mind too much.

His good mood lasted into Monday, where he found out that while quite a few people had seen the picture, most of them had believed it was a joke and the others didn’t really care. He was also happy to find that things were a lot less awkward between him and George, though he was careful to maintain his distance so George wouldn’t think he was interested in him.

So everything was going really well. Until lunch.

He was sitting at his table in the corner, as usual, and was waiting for George to enter the cafeteria. But George never entered. Samuel frowned. That was unusual, George never missed lunch. He saw George’s best friend, Charlotte, approach him.

“Do you know where George is?” She asked.

“No, sorry.” He said. She began twisting her hair nervously.

“I’m really worried, I heard he was in a fight and is now in the principal's office. I hope he isn’t too badly hurt.”

Samuel got up suddenly.

“What happened? Is he okay?” He asked urgently. His head swam. Just the thought of George being hurt made him feel sick.

“I’m not sure- hey, where are you going?” Charlotte called as Samuel ran from the room. Samuel didn’t bother replying, and raced to the principal's office. He skidded to a stop outside, where George was sitting.

“George!” He called out urgently. He cupped George’s face in his heads, examining it urgently. “Are you hurt? Are you okay?”

“Samuel, I’m fine!” George said, standing up and lowering Samuel’s hands gently.

“Who did you get into a fight with, though?” Samuel asked, still panting slightly.

“It was Charles Lee.” George said, frowning.

Confusion flashed across Samuel’s face. “But I thought you were friends.”

“He was the one that posted the picture.” George explained. “After all the trouble you got into, I couldn’t just let him get away with it.” He decided not to tell Samuel about why Lee had posted the picture, he had too much on his plate as it was.

“Oh.” Samuel said quietly. 

“But why did you care so much when you find out I might have been hurt?” George asked.

“It’s…” Samuel looked down at their still interlocked hands and sighed. “It’s because I love you, you big idiot.” He expected George to step away from him, telling him he didn’t feel the same way. But instead, George’s face was filled with happiness and wonder.

“What?” He breathed.

“I said I love you.” Samuel said nervously, not wanting to be rejected. George’s face broke out into a large grin.

“I love you too!” He said. Samuel smiled back, immensely relieved and happy.

George leaned forward a bit.

“Can I?” He asked, looking at Samuel for affirmation. Samuel nodded in consent. Their lips met midway.

This kiss was very different from their first one; it was sweet and gentle and slow. It was a kiss of unspoken promises, of forgiveness and acceptance. 

They heard someone cough and quickly parted. The principal was standing there with an amused expression, Charles Lee next to him with a horrified look on his face. Samuel and George looked at the principal apprehensively.

“Well, it looks like I’ve just won ten dollars.” He said, smiling.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I decided to update this early in honor of Gilbert Baker's 66th birthday. He was an activist for LGBTQ+ rights and created the gay pride flag. Unfortunately, he passed away recently when he was only 65 years old.  
> Also, this chapter was meant to be two different ones but it was so short I decided to combine them into one.

George was the perfect boyfriend. He was kind and understanding, never did anything to make Samuel uncomfortable, had refrained from flirting with boys at all ever since they got together, did little things throughout the day just to make Samuel smile and, as a bonus, was very good looking.

In short, life was almost perfect. It was significantly better than before George, at least. Now Samuel didn’t spend all his time alone, instead he spent it with his loving boyfriend and their best friend, Charlotte, who kept cooing over how adorable they were. They spent a lot of time together at George’s house, whose parents were now taking a trip to Cambodia.

But not everything was completely great. Samuel still hadn’t come out (while George had ages ago), so he and George only told a few people they knew they could trust that they were dating. This included Charlotte and Samuel’s sibling.

Samuel was afraid though. George was an amazing guy, while he was just… no one. And he had so many problems that other boys didn’t, the biggest being his homophobic parents. He and George couldn’t even hold hands during school or in public places because he was too afraid! He often thought that George deserved a better boyfriend than him. He even once voiced these thoughts out loud, but George had smacked him in the head and refused to kiss him until he agreed that wasn’t true, so he never said that again.

These thoughts haunted him, though, and he was afraid that George might break up with him some day because of this. He was also afraid that his parents would find out about this and that he wouldn’t be allowed to see George anymore. This constant fear surrounded him every day.

These thoughts swirled through his head as he walked through the almost deserted school. He had had debate and had stayed late to get something from his locker, so he was one of the very few people still in the building.

As he walked through a deserted hallway, he encountered Charles Lee. He ducked his head, pretending not to see him because he hated confrontation. Lee hadn’t been too mean to him, and Samuel assumed he had posted the picture to get revenge on George, not him, but he still didn’t like Lee very much. Unfortunately, his plan to ignore Charles was foiled when Charles called out to him.

“Hey, Samuel!” He called.

Samuel gave a forced smile. “Hi, Charles.” He kept walking, head down, when he felt someone holding his arm. He looked up and it was Charles.

“Um, Charles?” He asked nervously. Charles grinned. Well, more like leered.

“How are you and George doing?” He asked.

“Um, fine I guess?” Samuel said, confused.

“Well, if you’re ever unsatisfied, I can help.” Charles said, dropping his voice suggestively.

Samuel flushed and tried fruitlessly to remove his arm from Charles’ grip.

“I am not going to cheat on George with you!” Samuel said, his voice unintentionally higher than usual.

“Are you sure?” Charles asked with a smug smile. “It’ll be fun!”

“Yes, I’m sure. Now let go of me!” Samuel said, still struggling to move his arm away.

A flash of annoyance passed through Charles’ face. “Fine. Then I’ll tell your parents that you’re one of those homosexuals they hate. That should go well.” He began to walk away.

“Wait!” Samuel called out panickedly. Charles turned around with a triumphant look on his face.

“Yes?” He said in an annoying tone.

“Please, Charles, don’t do this.” Samuel begged. “Please.”

Charles pretended to think about it.

“Fine. You have until this month. Meet me at my house after school if you choose the more… preferable option.” He walked away again and this time, Samuel didn’t stop him. Instead, he sank to the floor, buried his face in his hands, and cried.

 

“He did what?!” George exclaimed loudly, standing up. “That no good son of a-”

“George, keep your voice down.” Samuel admonished quietly, still disheartened.

George didn’t care. He continued his spiel, not paying attention to the glares the parents nearby were giving him.

“I knew I should have kicked his ass a long time ago.” George ranted while Samuel just quietly watched, too tired to do anything now. He had not been sleeping well the past few weeks.

The two of them were in the nearby park. They both liked it as mainly only little kids and their parents went there, so they could act like a couple without fear of one of their classmates seeing them.

“I’m going to go over to his house right now and beat him up.” George said angrily. “I can’t believe he threatened you like that.”

Samuel held on to George’s wrist lightly.

“Don’t do that.” He said quietly. “That’s what he wants.”

“Why-” George started.

“You’ll get expelled if you hurt another student. That’s what the principal said.” Samuel reminded him. George sat down on the ground next to him.

“So then what do we do?” He asked. “He can’t just get away with this. And you can’t do what he asked you to. I won’t allow it.”

Samuel sighed and rest his head on George’s shoulder. “I don’t want to do it either. So there really is only one thing I can do. Though it’s just as bad.”

“Nothing can be worse than non-consensually fucking that asshole.” George said.

Samuel winced. “Yeah, it’s better, but just slightly. And I can’t think of any other alternative, and it’ll make Charles leave me alone for good, so I’m going to have to do this one.”

“What is it?” George asked.

Samuel raised his head and looked at George, fear and apprehension clear in his eyes. “I’m going to have to come out to my parents.”


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I went to pride and IT WAS AMAZING! For some reason, one of the volunteers there gave my friend and I male condoms. And I'm asexual and she's gay... But it was the best experience of my life.  
> Also, sorry for not updating on Wednesday, I was really busy with exams!

Samuel paced around his room nervously, waiting for his parents to arrive. He rehearsed what he was going to say to them silently. George had tried to talk him out of doing this, but they both knew there was no other alternative. This was the only thing that would get rid of any power Charles had over him once and for all.

He heard the door open and them talking. They both seemed to be in a good mood.  _ Well, that’s about to get ruined _ , Sam thought bitterly. He went out to meet them in the hallway. His sibling was there too.

“Mom. Dad.” Samuel said. “There are some things you are born with, that you can’t change no matter how much you hope or pray.”

They looked confused. “Samuel, honey, is everything okay?” His mom asked, reaching out to touch his face.

He met her eyes. “I’m gay.” Her hand stilled and she drew it back, covering her mouth.

“What?” She asked, shocked. Behind her, Samuel’s sibling was gasping, wondering why Samuel had revealed his biggest, most dangerous secret.

“See, this is exactly why I didn’t want him to go to this school! I said these flaming homosexuals would corrupt him, and I was right! That’s it, we aren’t going to stay here anymore.” His dad said angrily.

“Don’t you understand, Dad?” Samuel almost screamed. “Moving isn’t going to change me. I’ve been this way ever since I was born!”

He shook his head, clutching his wife for support. “It will change you. You’ll see. Don’t worry Son, we’ll help you get rid of this.”

Samuel shook his head disparagingly. This was one of the worst things that could have happened. He felt as though his entire world was crumbling down. He opened the door behind him and ran out into the night.

He ignored the calls behind him and raced up the familiar path. He remembered the day he had first gone through the path, and felt tears streaming down his face.

He reached the mansion and rang the doorbell insistently, remembering that day.

George opened the door. “Samuel? What’s wrong? Why are you crying? Are you-” Samuel stopped the barrage of questions with a searing kiss.

“My…. my parents are forcing me to move.” He said quietly after they had pulled away.

George’s eyes went wide, and he looked as stricken as Samuel felt. “What? Is there anyway we can stop this?” He asked desperately, grabbing on to Samuel’s hands. Samuel shook his head.

“Well, we can have a long distance relationship, right?”

“Georgey.” Samuel said quietly. “My parents are going to find out if we have a long distance relationship. They’re now going to check my texts, my emails, my letters, just to make sure I’m not dating some guy.”

George took a deep breath. There were now tears glimmering in his eyes. 

“So, I guess this is good-bye, though I don’t want it to be.”

Samuel nodded, tears running unchecked across his face. “You changed my life in so many ways.”

“Most of them good, I hope.” George chuckled sadly. “You did too. In more ways than you’ll know.”

Samuel moved closer to George, needing to be with him one last time.

“Remember that day we first met?” He was talking about when George had tried to flirt with him in the cafeteria for the first time, but to his surprise and delight, George said-

“Yeah, we were in first grade and I said your eyes were pretty.”

“You remember that?” Samuel asked.

“Of course. That was the first time I realized I wasn’t as straight as most people were.”

“And then I said, ‘Not as pretty as your eyes!’” Samuel remembered fondly. “I had fallen for you ever since.” George shifted so he was holding Samuel tighter. There was a silence as they stared into each other’s eyes, but not an awkward silence. It was the kind of silence that seems to last forever, the kind that no one wants to break because it seems magical and they don’t want the moment to be over.

Samuel finally looked away. “I have to go soon.” He muttered, wanting to stay there with George forever.

George kissed his forehead. “I’ll miss you.”

“Me too.” Samuel said, his blush returning. George admired it, knowing he wouldn’t see it again.

“I’ll never forget you.” Samuel said.

“I won’t either. How could I?” George replied. 

Samuel stepped away from him but kept their hands interlocked. “Good-bye, George.”

“See you, Samuel.” He let go of George’s hands and began to walk away.

“We’ll be together forever.” George said, and he turned around, looking at George in the moonlight.

“Forever.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tag yourself, I'm "flaming homosexual."


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm a terrible person who should not be allowed an internet connection. I'm very sorry for ending it at such a cliff hanger and then not updating on time. But here it is: the final chapter. I'm so excited! Please leave kudos or a comment if you enjoyed this story!

**Ten years later.**

Samuel got up on the stage nervously, waiting for the applause to die down. It went on for a very, very long time. He was about to discuss one of his most famous papers, which offered a brilliant analysis (as other famous historians were saying) on the causes of the Revolutionary War, and whether it was justified.

Life was pretty good. Despite being quite young, he was already very well-known and respected in his field. But he was also quite lonely. He didn’t have many friends, and was still single. Most people his age were married or at least in a relationship, but Samuel… well, he said it was because he was too busy, but he knew it was because he still couldn’t forget about George. Did that make him pathetic? Still mooning over his high school sweetheart? But whatever.

He began to speak. “I started this paper in, believe it or not, high school. We were supposed to write about the Revolutionary War with a partner. Being antisocial, even then-” Here he paused for laughter, “-I did the project alone. My teacher found my essay exemplary, so I decided to continue it, improving it in college and again when I graduated.” The rest of his speech went without a hitch. Well, there was one hitch.

About mid-way through his speech, just when he was gaining confidence, he glanced to the front row and almost stopped talking entirely. As it was, he hesitated for only a second before turning away and continuing his speech.

Sitting in the front row, directly in front of him, smiling fondly, was George William Frederick. He first thought the was imagining it, the most important part of his past that he couldn’t escape, or that he was confusing him with someone that looks similar.

But it was unmistakable. He looked exactly the way he did in high school, with only a few differences: He had a slight tan, his golden hair was styled differently, and his clear blue eyes now seemed more like blue-green. He was just as breathtaking as before, if not more.

After the seminar ended and Samuel went home, he had a new number in his phone and a big smile on his face.

 

**Two years later.**

“Are you ready?” Charlotte asked. 

“I’ve been ready for at least twenty years.” George commented.

“Still as cocky as ever, I see.” Charlotte replied.

Just then, Samuel walked out. He looked amazing in his tux, and George couldn’t help but stare at him.

“You’re staring.” Charlotte whispered teasingly to him.

“Can you blame me?” George hissed before flashing Samuel a charming smile, which Samuel shyly returned.

The rest of the ceremony went by in a blur.

“Do you, George William Frederick, take Samuel Seabury to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

“I do.” George said with no hesitation.

“And do you, Samuel Seabury, take George William Frederick to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

Samuel seemed to think about it before saying, “I do.” There was no trace of regret on his face, only pure happiness. As they walked down, they were swarmed by relatives and friends that wanted to congratulate them. Even Sam’s parents were there, having finally accepted who their son was, albeit reluctantly.

“Yay! Congratulations! I shipped the two of you ever since you rejected George.” Charlotte told Sam. He laughed, feeling happier and more exuberant than he had ever felt before. His sibling came over and gave them both a hug.

“I just came out to Mom and Dad.” They told him. “They’re kind of in shock that both of their kids turned out this way, but I think they’ll live.”

He shook his head. “I’m sorry it took so long for you to come out, I think that was partly my fault.”

They shrugged. “You had nothing to do with it. I just wasn’t ready until now- and neither were they.” He hugged them again.

“Who's going to cut the cake?” Charlotte asked.

George looked at Samuel. “Together?”

“Forever.” Samuel replied. 

Charlotte rolled her eyes. “I was hoping that when you two were married, you would stop being so sickeningly cute all the time, but I guess I was wrong.”

George kissed Samuel. “Yeah, you were.”

 

**Forty Years Later.**

He started at the casket morosely. People were offering him empty condolences, saying unhelpful things like ‘it was his time’ or ‘it hurts now, but it’ll get better.’

It was starting to rain, but he still resolutely stayed there. The sky was the same color as his husband- no, ex-husband’s- eyes.

“Come inside Dad.” His daughter said, tears streaming down her face too. “You’ll fall sick.” He didn’t reply, just stood there until she gave up and went inside, leaving him there to mourn alone.

He stared at the headstone. His love’s name, George William Frederick, was etched on there. He felt an emptiness inside, knowing that his soulmate had departed this world.

Why couldn’t it have been him instead? Then he wouldn’t have to stand here, wondering how he was supposed to live without his husband, his soulmate, his only love. 

People kept telling him that he would get over it eventually, that these things happen. But they didn’t understand. No one would understand.

He didn’t know how to live without George. That was it. How was he meant to get through every day?

“I thought you said it would be forever.” He said quietly. 

There was no reply.

He smiled sadly, brushing tears off his face, before turning around to face another day.

 

**Five Years Later.**

“Grandpa, grandpa!” She yelled, running over to him. He chuckled.

“Yes, my flower?”

“What are you doing?” She asked curiously.

“Oh, just thinking.”

“About what?”

He looked at her and smiled fondly.

“Your granddad, dear. You remind me so much of him.”

“Really? How?” She asked excitedly, sitting at his feet.

“Well, the two of you are very energetic, very confident, and love annoying me.” He said teasingly. She giggled.

He hadn’t talked about George in so long, but he was okay opening up now. He had come to terms with the fact that he wouldn’t see George for a while, and even though that hurt a lot, he was okay with it now. Of course he would miss George. He would never forget him. But he was okay living his own life for a while, though he couldn’t wait to see George again.

“How did you two meet?” She asked curiously.

He smiled. “Well, in every high school, there is always a one kid everyone knows will be hugely successful, one kid that everyone knows will be a high school dropout, and one kid that flirts with everyone. That kid was George Frederick...”

 

**??? Years Later.**

You walk into the graveyard nervously, cursing your friends for taking a simple game of truth or dare so far, and cursing yourself for having so much pride that you refuse to back down from a dare. You examine some of the headstones, still slightly creeped out at the thought that you are technically standing over dead bodies. You shiver slightly as the wind picks up, and hurry across the graveyard, wanting to get this over with. Towards the end, you hesitate. You aren’t sure what possesses you to do this, but you go back a little, and examine two headstones, standing next to one another. The sunlight is falling directly on them, making the words engraved on them much easier to read. The one to the right is engraved with the words ‘George William Frederick’ and the one to the left says ‘Samuel Seabury.’ You stare at the headstones for a while, feeling oddly emotional about these two men you didn’t even know, until you hear your friends calling out to you, wondering if you are okay. You tear your eyes off the headstones and leave the graveyard, never looking back.

You don’t forget about that day at the graveyard though. You stop mentioning it to your friends because they don’t remember it and don’t know why you’re so interested in it. You also decide not to tell them that you’re kind of stalking two dead gay guys, just in case they find it creepy, though you’re only doing it because of your curiosity. You find out that Samuel Seabury was a very famous historian, and that George William Frederick inherited his family business but was a stay at home dad later on. You realize that your cousin is good friends with one of their granddaughters, and you meet her and the two of you almost instantly become very good friends. She tells you all about them, and how they met, having heard the story from one of them a few days before his death. She never forgot that conversation, and will always cherish that memory. You find their story incredible, and feel so strongly about them that you want to punch Charles Lee in the face. You feel like everyone else should know about their lives, as it is one of the most amazing love stories of all time.

And then, one day, you tell their story.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congratulations! You have reached the end of the story. Thank you so much for reading the entire thing, and thank you especially to everyone that commented and left kudos. I wouldn't have had the motivation to finish this fic without all of you. I also want to thank Autumn. I haven't known you for very long but I really like you. You're a great friend and I looked forward to your comments (and now messages) every day. If anyone wants to write or draw something related to this fic, then I would be honored, just please share it with me. Also, feel free to email me if you want to request a story for me to write; I'm always open to new ideas. Thank you again everyone!


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